“I was actually surprised that what they posted was 100 calories less than what your tests found,” said Davis.

She was talking about the Happy Meal, which we found had combined total of 419 calories, compared to the 305 we added up from the McDonald’s menu.

“Then you’ve got 24 grams of fat, I mean, that’s a lot for a child,” Davis said about the amount of fat for one meal.

Speaking of, both burritos lead the pack in calories, carbs, and fat.

The Cantina came back higher in all those categories, compared to what Taco Bell posts.

It even has more carbs than the Grilled Stuft.

“And they’re marketing that as a lighter item, so you know the average consumer is going to consume that verses option B because they’re marketing it is lighter,” Davis said.

Even with the grilled chicken sandwich, you’re only saving some carbohydrates.

The fried chicken sandwich we tested also came back with higher calories and fat than what’s posted by Wendy’s.

The Satisfries we tested came back with a higher carb count than the regular fry tested from Burger King.

Davis said in her opinion, here’s the real skinny: “It’s just a little bit lighter than the original. You’re still going to have some higher calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugar and things like that, not to mention the sodium content.”

The On Your Side Investigators also got smaller serving sizes of nearly every item compared to what the restaurants post.

We were shorted on the fries, sandwiches, and burritos.

Myrick said, “I was just starting to look at that, so the serving size I assume would play a huge difference in a lot of the readings.”

There was a noticeable difference in some cases.

We did the math and if we’d had the correct serving size, nearly every item would have come back with higher calories, carbs, and fat compared to the posted content.

According to a Taco Bell spokesperson, the company does not market the Cantina menu as a lighter option, but rather “gourmet inspired” with “layers of flavor.”

He said he does understand why some consumers might perceive it that way, but all customers have the option to order their food “fresco” style.

A McDonald’s representative said, “We are not in a position to comment on the test conducted for this story without knowing specific factors and methodology.”

She pointed out that nutrition information is based on “average values,” as did reps for Burger King, Wendy’s and TGI Friday’s, who also said it’s normal for variations to occur.

WREG also asked Burger King specifically about its marketing for the Satisfry, which is based on a 70g serving, a size that isn’t an option on the menu.

A spokesperson said, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USDA) lists only one serving size, 70 grams, for reference amount customarily consumed per serving (RACC) with regard to french fried potatoes.”

Applebee’s said they post a disclaimer directly on restaurant menus explaining, “variability in ingredients and preparation is expected.”

**Please note, WREG’s data was gathered over the past two months. Some of the restaurants have updated their nutritional information online. The lab WREG used to conduct the testing is ISO/IEC accredited and uses AOAC, FDA, USDA or equivalent recognized methods for all analyses.